Last year, the bullpen was one of the biggest problem areas for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 2015 regular season hasn’t even started yet, and the team is already down an arm after news that Brandon League will be out for an extended period of time.
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League Out for ‘Several Months’
Friday, March 27
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly admitted Friday that League will miss “several months” with an injury to his right shoulder, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
League’s inflamed right shoulder was examined by several doctors Friday in Las Vegas. Mattingly didn’t have an exact diagnosis, but said a conservative approach would be taken, beginning with three weeks of rest.
League hasn’t pitched since March 9. He had an extended bullpen session two days later, after which he felt the discomfort. He had a cortisone injection, has tried two bullpen sessions, but more discomfort led to a contrast MRI on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old reliever is coming off of a solid 2014 campaign. In 63 regular-season innings, he posted a 2.57 earned run average and averaged 5.4 strikeouts per nine innings, per Baseball-Reference.com. League also appeared in four postseason games, pitching two scoreless innings.
League was a dependable member of a Dodgers bullpen that struggled at times last year, especially come the playoffs. The team finished 20th in reliever FIP and 22nd in reliever ERA, according to FanGraphs.
The timing of his injury couldn’t be much worse for Los Angeles, given Kenley Jansen is still recovering from foot surgery.
While League didn’t project to be a vital member of the Dodgers roster, his absence will certainly be felt in the later innings.
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